


From A to Z

by MythicalCatie



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Bedtime, Bedtime Stories, Infantilism, M/M, little!space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 02:17:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14740175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythicalCatie/pseuds/MythicalCatie
Summary: A night just like every other night, Jeff reads Jared his favorite story for the ten thousandth time.





	From A to Z

Night had fallen over the sky hours before, but it was only now, at eight o’clock sharp, that Jared Padalecki was turning in for bed. He had eaten dinner just before sunset (macaroni and cheese, chicken francese, and spinach, a vegetable which he couldn’t help but balk at) and then took a bath in which he proceeded to play until the water ran cold. He was wrapped in his special bath towel, one with his name on it, even, and after his teeth were sparkling clean, his hair was brushed out and dried with the blow dryer that was kept under the sink. He had always hated going to bed with it wet when he was little, sleep taking more precedence over a damp head when he was in an adult headspace, but the “gross” feeling being too overwhelming to drift off when the case was otherwise. Jeff would take twenty to thirty minutes added to their nightly routine over spending a much longer amount of time complaining about he couldn’t sleep any day.

Once his hair had stopped feeling like a sponge that had been used for far too long and started feeling like a cloud that had just gone through a warm, crackling fire, the brunet slipped into his sleepwear, his favorite onesie, a plush one with giraffe print and an attached matching hood that fell over his eyes no matter how hard he tried to keep it from happening, and a race car pull-up strictly for good measure. It had been a while since he had had an accident in bed, but for whatever reason, Jared was still apprehensive to sleep without it. Of course, this was okay by Jeff, who was just grateful to be saved from having to make a trip to get fresh bedding at Target.

While getting dressed and even in the tub, though he fought through it in favor of having more time with his squirt guns and the pretty crayons that he could draw on the wall with before washing away what he had created by their use like magic, Jared had shown signs of being worn out, yawning and his eyes drifting closed many more times than they, in his opinion, should have. It wouldn’t take much for him to fall asleep, and it wouldn’t be surprising if such happened before he had the chance to crawl under the covers.

After all, he had barely made it to his bedroom, feeling the need to lean on his Daddy as they navigated the corridor.

“Are you sure you don’t want to just go to bed, love?” Jeff asked softly, turning down the light to the room from its fullest extent to just bright enough so that they could see to read their nightly story. “We can always save reading for tomorrow night when you’re less sleepy. The books will still be here, baby boy. They’re not gonna grow feet and run away while you’re asleep, I promise.”

Jared shook his head as he padded over to the bookcase on the other side of the room, his steps silenced by what was a combination of the feet on his outfit and the carpet underneath them. His brown hair flopped from side to side due to the motion, though it settled mostly back in place when he was still again. “I wanna read,” he assured adamantly, not looking back from his task to respond.

Jeff mirrored his boy in shaking his head, though a small smile crept onto his face as he did so. That kid wouldn’t miss storytime for anything in the world, but it was worth a shot.

Upon receiving his answer, the fifty-two year old made his way past Jared and the bookcase, sitting down in the oak rocking chair by the window with cream colored curtains that he would soon close. The chair was one that he had built himself, something that was both sturdy enough to support their combined weight and large enough to accommodate their bodies, especially Jared’s bigger frame (if he was getting technical, it would probably be more appropriate to call it a rocking bench; plenty of legroom was a must, after all). He had painted it himself, too, a nice baby blue to compliment the pale green that covered the wall behind it. Maybe, just maybe, he was the tiniest bit biased, but he had to say regardless that it was one of the staple pieces of the space.  

He didn’t take long finding what he was looking for in the bookcase, the book that he sought front and center on the top shelf. It had been read many more times over than any of the other selections in the home, Jared’s favorite by far. Tonight, as well as most others, he abandoned other possibilities such as a plethora of Dr. Seuss classics, _Goodnight, Moon_ , and _Corduroy_ (easily his top pick out of picture books not written by an author named Daddy) in its favor.

Clutching the book in both of his hands, he took two short steps to the rocking chair where Jeff was waiting for him, a stuffed moose in his grasp, something that the elder had plucked off of the seat before settling into it.

Though he was clearly too tired to spare much else, Jared beamed as he straightened his arms to hold his choice out to Jeff, his smile lighting up the once dim room like rays of sunshine bursting through the curtains in the early hours of the morning.

Jeff set the plush moose beside him so that he could accept the book, rolling his eyes playfully when he saw exactly what he had expected: the same title that Jared had picked out the past, oh, Jeff didn’t know, ten thousand storytimes.

The colors of the front cover were more darkened and reserved than the majority of what was in the little one’s collection, the choice of hues and tones made to reflect the nighttime scenery playing out on it. It was much like the scene currently unfolding in their cozy home, albeit a step or so ahead of the character renderings on the page. Pictured was Jared and Jeff’s reading corner, the focus of the cover the pair of them curled up together much like they would be in a few short moments, Jared in Jeff’s lap, clutching his “stuffy” with his head laid on Jeff’s shoulder as the elder’s voice filled the room, rattling off another tale from the bookcase.

“ _Daddy Loves Jay_ , again, eh?” Jeff inquired as he held his gaze on the cover for a moment more before turning it to the brunet before him. The whole thing was falling apart. They had, if they were lucky, three more read-throughs before the thing had to go in the trash. The man would have to remember to order another print to replace their spare after Jared fell asleep. The corners of his mouth turned up once again as he looked up at the onesie-clad sweetheart before him, placing the story to his side along with the younger’s moose companion before holding out his arms invitingly. “Don’t you ever want to read anything else, darling? Isn’t _Daddy Loves Jay_ getting boring?”  
  
Daddy Loves Jay, the book that the latter subject had settled on, was a gift to him from Jeff on their first Christmas when Jared was no longer **just** Jared and Jeff was no longer **just** Jeff. The first Christmas that Jeff was also “Daddy” and Jared was also “angel”, “pumpkin”, “babycakes”, “sunshine”, “honeybee”, and, well, point made. He must have spent an entire season working on his debut as an author (even though it was only to a readership of one), going to great pains to perfect hand-drawn illustrations, the balance of colors on each page, and the words that tied them all together. He was immediately filled with worry once he sent it off for printing and could no longer make edits, afraid that he had done a terrible job and that starting the project at all had been a horrible mistake. But, come Christmas morning, when the cutie in the candy cane striped pajamas ripped through the wrapping paper only to light up brighter than Jeff had ever seen him when he realized what he was holding in his hands, all of the hard work and nerves were more than worth it. The first time that they read it together, surrounded by shredded bits of wrapping paper and other, yet to be opened presents (because Jared just couldn’t wait to hear it), was, to this day, one of Jeff’s favorite memories. The way that he excitedly pointed out every little detail with a grin wider than the state of Texas plastered on his face all the while showed just how much he appreciated and enjoyed the gift and although now, most of that enthusiasm has been replaced by his cuddling deeper into Jeff as he fights to keep his eyes open as words laced with the comfort of familiarity progressed, his adoration for his favorite book was still clearly present.

“No waaay!” Jared gasped at the questions, acting as if they were the silliest things he had ever heard. How could he even suggest such a thing?! “‘ts my **favorite**!”

Jared had barely finished his sentence before he was in Jeff’s lap, his own arms wrapped around the man’s torso as he hugged him lazily and made himself comfortable against his Daddy’s warm sweater and atop his denim-clad legs. “You did it for me, ‘member?”

“I remember,” the hazel eyed man smiled gently, embracing Jared tightly in return. It hadn’t taken the man long at all to realize that the book didn’t **have** to be perfect; Jared would love it just the same even if it wasn’t because he **made** it especially for him. It wasn’t something that he had picked up online or in some discount bin at the grocery store, a mindless set of pages with generic characters telling of adoration that could be applied to anybody it was gifted to. No. Jeff had taken the time to put together a gift that explained all of the reasons that **he** loved **Jared** , not why the hare loved the baby bunny and how that same situation applied to the pair of them. It wasn’t for anybody else in the **world** , and that’s why it was so special. “It’s my favorite too, lovebug. Let’s go for it.”

Leaving one arm to remain wrapped around Jared’s waist, his hand settled against the fluffy white patch of the stomach of the outfit, Jeff reached for the stuffed animal still sitting beside him as well as the book, gently tossing the latter on Jared’s spotted thigh.

“Alrighty, here’s Sammy,” the man informed, holding out the plush with his roughened (but still gentle) free hand only for it to be taken by one of Jared’s objectively softer own. “And here-,” he continued, reaching behind him to take possession of the red and black plaid blanket resting over the back of the rocking chair before covering the two of them with it. “-is Mr. Blanket. You two all comfy?” he asked after a beat, ducking down slightly to plant a kiss on Jared’s forehead.

With a nod, Jared confirmed that he was, in fact, content in his position. Just as was on the cover of the storybook, the boy had his head resting on Jeff’s shoulder. He had to rework his height a bit to do so, sliding down so that his knees were bent and he wasn’t sitting flat, but the change was of no pain to him. If anything, it was more agreeable than another choice. “Mhm,” he hummed just so that his response wasn’t solely physical.

“Okay, then what do you say we get this show on the road?” Jeff said in a more rhetorical fashion than anything else as he removed his glasses from the top of his head and placed them on his face. Heaven only knew that he couldn’t read a single letter without their help.

Fishing that night’s material out from under the downy fabric currently keeping them warm (along with other measures such as central heating throughout the residence; it certainly wasn’t the worst weather in the continental United States, but a winter’s night in New York was nothing to laugh about), Jeff rested its body on Jared’s knees, clearing his throat before reading the title aloud and opening to the first page.

“ _Daddy loves Jay_ ,” Jeff began, the action of his rumbling voice leaving his body causing his chest to vibrate, “ _more than the sun, the moon, and the stars combined_. See, there are all the pretty stars,” he explained, pointing them out on the page. The specks were bright against their black backdrop, illuminating the sky and the ground below. The ground that, as it happened, housed its very own stargazers by the names of Morgan and Padalecki, lying stretched out on a picnic blanket as they admired the wonders of the universe. “And there we are, too.”

Jared smiled faintly, the arm that didn’t have a hold on Sammy reached out to run two fingers over the space where his hair was illustrated. The strands weren’t tactile, nor was any part of the rest of the book, but touching it was just something he liked to do anyway.

“Should do that t’morrow,” he mumbled. “Stars are pretty.”

Stars were so pretty, in fact, that it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for Jared and Jeff to settle themselves in beneath them to admire their beauty. The activity was carried out so often, in fact, that it was impossible for Jared to pinpoint the specific night that was drawn, or to assume that it was a specific night at all. Frankly, he had lost count of the amount of times that they had watched hues of pink, orange, and red fade into midnight blues and their like, and, in the interest of full disclosure, he would go as far as to say that it was one of their trademark “dates” as a couple.

It was an amazing time in the spring, summer (mosquitos be damned), and even in the autumn provided that they were both wearing the appropriate attire for the chill that evening brought, but the same could not be said for the winter months. When the grass disappeared due to the snow that covered it and temperatures were routinely below freezing, it was downright foolish to engage in their astronomy-centered outings. Forget about frostbite, hypothermia, and being so uncomfortable that it was arguably far from worth it to leave the comfort of lounging by the fireplace, either one of them, namely Jeff’s baby boy, could catch a cold, and he was indisputably miserable whenever under the weather, little or otherwise. As such, from the months of December through February, their viewings of the above were few and far between (if at all), coming only when they were out of town together and in a warmer climate, and Jeff hated to say it, but, “Sorry, honeybun. No can do. It’s **way** too cold; snowstorm isn’t supposed to let up until Monday, and Daddy doesn’t want you to get sick. But I promise, as soon as it’s warm enough, we’ll be outside for them, mmkay?”

Naturally, Jared appeared disappointed upon hearing the news that he would have to wait **longer** to be like his fictional rendering, but aside from an adorable pout and a (barely audible) sigh when he echoed a, “kay,” he was sans protest. Even if he didn’t know that his being barred from the galaxy for the time being was in his best interest, he was too tired to argue his temporarily enforced distance from it.

Without any further ado, Daddy turned to the next page, revealing a fresh illustration as he continued, reading the next line. _“Daddy loves Jay so much so that he’s always on his mind.”_ Okay, Jeff would be the first to admit that he was far from being a master of rhyme, but sue him for thinking that the first two sentences of a children’s book should compliment one another.

Jared’s eyes had long felt heavy, and the soothing roll of the narrator’s voice only served to lessen his resolve when it came to keeping them open. If he hadn’t previously committed it to memory, the brunet would have missed the depiction of his favorite person standing around on a movie set while a thought bubble of **his** favorite person, clearly some great distance away, appeared over his head, because as was per the usual, he found his eyelids going down for blinks in a drastically slowed fashion, and by the time he opened them again, the image that had been in front of him when his vision briefly blackened had changed to another.

 _“Daddy loves Jay more than words can say, and that’s okay, because he shows him in other ways._ ” Sooner than Jared had hoped, it was becoming less about the words filling the little nook and more about the voice of the man speaking them. Although it held a soft quality, it was deep like thunder and the act of using it caused his chest to buzz against Jared’s body, unwittingly lulling him.

It definitely didn’t help that Jared had, for a great deal of his life, especially after his life included Jeff, been a sucker for familiarity, and the scent that was a mix of the latter’s cologne as well as his natural, underlying odor was exactly that. As things happened, the younger’s face was at the perfect height to bury in the crook of the elder’s neck and take the combination in, allowing it to work its sneaky magic.

It was hardly shocking to Jeff that Jared was struggling to stay with the rest of the conscious world; he had had a very long, eventful day. Well, not a long day so much as a long **week** , the fifty-two year old mused. Not only was he coming off of almost a month straight of filming, but he was also dealing with some rather unnecessary family drama that had him feeling sick at the thought of calling or returning the calls of any of the members of his brood for fear of an earful or, he hated to say it, risking some of the blame being placed on him for taking the “wrong” side in the mess that had become their community. It was a balancing act, one of walking on eggshells trying not to crush toes, and it was one that, even though he didn’t want to participate, he was always dragged into. Unfortunately, the combination of the two drained him to a point of no return as far as being Jared Tristan, the sibling who seemed to be, at least currently, the only one with all of his ducks in a row and his sanity on straight, went.

His only chance at redemption was allowing another part of himself to take over for a little while. But even though that seemed to be helping (Jeff would have to check in when Jared was of an opposing mindset to be sure), he was still playing catch-up on not being such a worn-out, run ragged shell of his typical self. It would be at least another day or two before he could keep his eyes open past eight-thirty (and yeah, maybe it was a good idea to have a lazy day tomorrow, though Jeff wasn’t sure how much lazier than today they could get).

Reaching the hand that wasn’t holding the book up, Jeff went to run his fingers through Jared’s long brown hair, the instinctive way to coax him to sleep, when he was stopped by the mostly yellow, but orange spotted hood of his pajamas. Instead, he went for rubbing his back, his hand moving in broad, slow circles on the soft material that met it, adding in horizontal and vertical strokes every so often.

“ _-...beautiful smile… Daddy’s day…-_ ” came parts of the next line, fading in and out, the only constant being that of Jeff’s deep rumble. Jared’s eyes were closed for real, now, having not bothered to open them again after another one of his prolonged blinks. What was there to see if he had, anyway? Unless he turned his head at a slight angle, all that was present to be observed was the slightly paler than normal, but still naturally tanned, skin of Jeff’s neck. Besides, sleep seemed more alluring by the nanosecond, and the sound of that voice was nothing but a beckon…

He couldn’t begin to judge when he lost the flow of the story unfolding in front of him, not even small bits and pieces registering in his brain any longer. All that was left was the low, unfaltering hum in Daddy’s chest against Jared’s own frame as he read, and the wordless, letter-lacking flow of his speech. It was his very own perfect bubble, right here from the home that they had built with each other, and he was dreading the next time that it would be popped, but that was the last thing he could bring himself to think about. At least for now, in this moment, it wasn’t going anywhere.

Then came the added sensation of the chair actually beginning to rock, having been entirely stationary up until that point. Natural calming effect or one that developed over time, Jared didn’t know, but the motion was most certainly not causing him to become more alert.

In the end, the soothing backward and forward of the rocking chair was the final crack in Jared’s resolve to stay awake through not only the first reading of _Daddy Loves Jay_ , but also the second that he was planning to weasel out of the man who wrote it with the use of his ever lethal puppy dog eyes and pout.

It had always been the motion that did his drowsiness in when all else failed, so Jeff wasn’t surprised when Jared’s grip on Sammy loosened enough for it to fall entirely out of his grasp, a sign that he was no longer awake.

“ _Daddy loves Jay more than the sun, the sky, the birds, and the trees. Daddy loves Jay more than whatever lovely things blow by in the breeze.”_ Jeff hated to leave a book unfinished, even if it was one that he knew by heart, forward and backward. Besides, there was always the slight chance that Jared was still awake, albeit barely, and abandoning the story without closing it out was not an option in that case. “ _Daddy loves Jay more than the sun, the moon, and the stars combined. He’ll love him forever, and that’s all he knows. He blows him this kiss tonight, and that’s how it’ll always go.”_

With that, Jeff shut the storybook and set it aside, doing the same with the stuffed moose that his boy held so dearly.

After having cleared the chair of everything but their two bodies, he ducked his head slightly to plant a gentle kiss on the younger brunet’s temple. “All done,” he whispered lovingly in case anybody was listening, then brushed a stray strand or two of hair from his face before straightening back up. All throughout this, however, there was not even so much as a twitch of moment. Yeah, Jared was definitely out cold.

He knew it. This was it. It was time to move him to bed.

Jeff knew that transferring Jared to the mattress just a few feet away wouldn’t wake him, if he could do it without throwing his back out. Even when he was in the very early stages of unconsciousness, he was a heavy sleeper. This was only exacerbated by the fact that he was so worn out, but something was keeping him in place. He didn't want to have to wake him so that he could move him to his bed.

Jared just looked so damn **adorable**. So sweet and peaceful, and he was cuddled so close. A few more minutes sitting in the chair couldn’t hurt, could it? Ten minutes, that’s all it’d be. Ten minutes, and then he’d get up. He’ll even check his phone once in awhile to make sure it’s **just** that long.

As was the passage of time, those ten minutes soon came and went. Ten, then fifteen, and then twenty. And before Jeff knew it, without realizing it in the least, he, too, had nodded off in the room with the nature theme.

Yes, he was entirely too old to sleep in such a position in such a chair. Yes, he would have a massive crick in his neck come the morning. Yes, his back would make him feel like he was eighty-two as opposed to fifty-two for the next two or three days.

But yes, as always, it would be forever worth it if it was time spent with his baby boy.


End file.
